Mexican Mafia-linked Central Coast gang member sentenced
We didn’t pay attention to the character of those we elected. We thought it was OK if their characters slipped a little here and a little there. If there ever has been a reason to vote for men and women of impeccable ethics, this is it. Our children. If there ever has been a reason to pay attention to the actions of our elected representatives, this is it: those who come after us.
Is it Murder in a California Beach Town? We’ve Yet to Find Out
A courtroom drama plays out in yet another California beach County - Monterey - the result of the mysterious disappearance 26 years ago of a beautiful tall, blonde coed while attending the well-respected California Polytechnic State University in scenic San Luis...
7 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW TO PARTICIPATE IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT
DOUBLE DAIS – WHY US? Why take a 6-hour online course? In these videos, I’ll give you all the valuable, firsthand, nuts-and-bolts information you need to be a citizen activist or elected official who gets RESULTS. 1. You’ll find out how to speak clearly and...
THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS – A function of Government?
The United States Declaration of Independence was drafted by Thomas Jefferson and then edited and adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. The second paragraph of the first article in the Declaration of Independence contains the phrase "Life,...
WHY I CREATED AN ONLINE COURSE FOR PUBLIC OFFICIALS AND CONCERNED CITIZENS
After launching and running a successful multimillion-dollar business in Scotland, I came back home to the U.S. and began my career as a real estate broker. As a broker, I’ve negotiated more than 500 win-win transactions. All that experience served me well when I...
EFFECTIVE PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
Every day in cities and towns across the U.S., ordinary people are proving # that democracy CAN still effect positive changes and make society better. #Activists are making their voices heard. They’re opening up local government, so it’s more transparent. They’re...
SEWER TOUR
This is what good government looks like. Good government looks like the sewer district superintendent coming into work on a Saturday morning to enthusiastically take a group of his customers – citizens who pay taxes to provide for a sewer system for their community –...
What Has To Be Present to Fix Corruption?
If you’ve read my book, The Happiest Corruption, Sleaze, Lies, & Suicide in a California Beach Town, or signed up for my online course, Double Dias: Adventures in Local Government, you’ll have picked up a message that runs through them, and through many of the...
What Fuels the Machine? Fear Fuels it and Greed Runs it.
I tell the story of three political machines in my THE HAPPIEST CORRUPTION: Sleaze, Lies, & Suicide in a California Beach Town. They are focused in different American communities, even in different centuries, but the stories echo through decades and across the...
The 5 Biggest Mistakes Concerned Citizens Make
Today I'm going to share with you the five most common mistakes people make when trying to establish good governance in their communities. Mistake 1 they don’t speak in public meetings – if your elected representatives don’t know what matters to you, and if you don’t...